The Space Between Words by Michèle Phoenix | book review

About the book: (from the publisher) “There were seconds, when I woke, when the world felt unshrouded. Then memory returned.”

When Jessica regains consciousness in a French hospital on the day after the Paris attacks, all she can think of is fleeing the site of the horror she survived. But Patrick, the steadfast friend who hasn’t left her side, urges her to reconsider her decision. Worn down by his insistence, she reluctantly agrees to follow through with the trip they’d planned before the tragedy.

“The pages found you,” Patrick whispered.

“Now you need to figure out what they’re trying to say.”

During a stop at a country flea market, Jessica finds a faded document concealed in an antique. As new friends help her to translate the archaic French, they uncover the story of Adeline Baillard, a young woman who lived centuries before—her faith condemned, her life endangered, her community decimated by the Huguenot persecution.

“I write for our descendants, for those who will not understand the cost of our survival.”

Determined to learn the Baillard family’s fate, Jessica retraces their flight from France to England, spurred on by a need she doesn’t understand.

Could this stranger who lived three hundred years before hold the key to Jessica’s survival?

About the author: Born in France to a Canadian father and an American mother, Michèle Phoenix is a consultant, writer and speaker with a heart for Third Culture Kids. She taught for 20 years at Black Forest Academy (Germany) before launching her own advocacy venture under Global Outreach Mission. Michèle travels globally to consult and teach on topics related to this unique people group. She loves good conversations, mischievous students, Marvel movies and paths to healing.

My take: I appreciate women’s fiction that’s not afraid to be real, addressing serious issues head-on, yet with hope. I’m also drawn to slip-time stories that peel back the years to reveal a previously unknown slice of history, weaving it into a contemporary context. The concept for this story is brilliant and worthy of literary exploration.

For all it had going for it, I didn’t find myself connecting to the characters as strongly as I’d hoped. They seemed kind of surface-y, not quite real. A part of this is that the dialogue sometimes felt a bit stilted — which I acknowledge is my own subjective take and may not necessarily strike another reader the same way. One more highly subjective observation: I wouldn’t have minded seeing earlier and more frequent sparks between two main characters.

I did really like the way the author brought two very disparate story lines together, weaving them in the end into a compelling and emotionally satisfying conclusion. I also liked the direction the characters were headed as the novel ended.

Thanks to BookLook and Thomas Nelson for providing me this book free of charge. All opinions are mine.